With Drew Stanton hurting, Lions turn to Daunte Culpepper as 'best way to try to win'

Rob Widdis | Special to The Grand Rapids PressDetroit's Daunte Culpepper tries to escape the grasp of Chicago's Mark Anderson.DETROIT -- Throughout his short NFL career, injuries have plagued
Detroit Lions quarterback Drew Stanton. It appears another injury might
have robbed him of a chance to start his second NFL game.

Daunte Culpepper was the starter in Detroit's 37-23 loss to the
Chicago Bears on Sunday, but Lions coach Jim Schwartz said Stanton
might have gotten the call if he had been healthy.

"Drew had an ankle (injury) and was severely limited on Wednesday
(at practice),'' Schwartz said. "If Drew could've been 100 percent
healthy and been able to take every rep in practice, then there
would've been consideration for him (starting).''

Schwartz said Stanton was feeling better later in the week, but the decision already had been made.

"By the time Thursday came around, Drew was moving around well,
but you can't count on that on Wednesday,'' Schwartz said. "We needed
to make that decision earlier in the week. All things considered, it
was the best way to try to win this game.''

In his rookie season, Stanton suffered a knee injury that knocked
him out of the preseason and ultimately put him on the injured reserve
list for the entire year. Last season, Stanton suffered a thumb injury
during training camp that sidelined him for a couple of preseason games.

Follett gets time at linebackerRookie seventh-round draft choice Zack Follett saw action as a
pass-rushing outside linebacker in a 3-4 alignment on a handful of
plays.

"I think we need to look at that, for sure,'' Schwartz said of
Follett playing outside linebacker. "The reason we got him in there as
part of that package today is because he did well at practice and on
special teams and you want to try to find a way to put them in.''

Williams benched againRookie Derrick Williams, who already had been benched earlier this
season for problems on kickoff returns, was yanked again. Williams
stumbled and fell on the final return before halftime and then fumbled
in the fourth quarter when the Lions were trying to scramble their way
back into the game.

Schwartz, though, said he isn't giving up on the third-round draft pick.

"You've got to count on players improving,'' he said. "I wouldn't
want to just make that blanket statement and just give up on a guy
because of one look.''

Cutler, Forte good vs. Detroit againChicago quarterback Jay Cutler has a league-leading 26
interceptions this year and had only four games in which he didn't
throw an interception. Two of those games were against the Lions.

In
his two meetings against Detroit, Cutler had six touchdown passes and
zero picks.

Bears running back Matt Forte had just two 100-yard rushing
games this season -- both against the Lions. Sunday, Forte had 101
yards on 16 carries, including a 53-yard run in the second half. Bears
tight end Greg Olsen had a career-high 94 receiving yards against the
Lions, topping his previous best of 87 yards (also against the Lions).

Hanson ends on high noteAfter going through a stretch in which he hit just four of eight
field-goal attempts, Lions kicker Jason Hanson finished the season by
hitting six in a row. Hanson now has 1,835 career points, placing him
seventh on the NFL's all-time scoring list.

Hanson, an 18-year veteran,
has appeared in 287 career games, the most in Lions history and the
third most in NFL history (most among active players) by a player with
one team.

Backus keeps startingLeft tackle Jeff Backus has 144 consecutive starts in his
career, the longest active streak among linemen and the fifth longest
among all active players.

Backus has started every game for the Lions
since he was drafted in the first round in 2001.

Odds & endsCliff Avril had a sack against the Bears, giving him a team high
5.5 for the Lions this season. ... Rookie DeAndre Levy, getting his
second consecutive start in the middle for the injured Larry Foote, led
the team in tackles with 12, a career high.